I have had a LinkedIn account since 2009. At that time, my main topic was health, wellness, nutrition and fitness. All my online medium reflected that interest and I was very comfortable and confident with my online presence(s). As you know, if you’ve been following my blog, (and if you haven’t been, I trust you will correct that now), I felt there was something missing and I moved to a much bigger and way cooler purpose…. purpose. My passion (overused, but appropriate word) for self-actualization, has really changed my life and for the better. However, I have been somewhat struggling with the changeover from Wellness to Purpose and Self-Actualization. To me, it is a much more personal topic.
While I had begun the content change from one to the other, I did not get far before I realized I needed to give my image more thought. I could spend days or weeks making changes, but they didn’t feel right and so I put the whole thing on hold. I kept blogging and reading, on not just the philosophy of purpose and achieving self-actualization, but
also books and articles on website development and online presence and branding. I was hoping that advice had changed since a few years ago, but mostly I found the same suggestions and they did not resonate with me. Not for this.
I visited the sites of other speakers and was left cold. Pages filled with email capture areas and videos and book sales. There is absolutely nothing wrong with either the traditional route of website building or in promoting sales immediately and consistently. I did it myself for years. But now it seemed different. At least, I wanted it to be.
I was discussing this thought process with a fellow speaker that I recently connected with and I said, “I don’t want my site to scream sales. I want it to whisper change. Whisper purpose. Nudge to self-actualization.” Having said that, I’m going to continue running the experiment that is my life and see if I can life a true existence and still make a living while still making a difference.
My website is always in the midst of change, but I have some ideas I’ll be trying soon. I incorporated some humor into my LinkedIn profile, and I hope to continue that process everywhere else. There is no need for self-actualization to be dull and pedantic. In fact, I think that some good belly laughs helps keep the life and spirit and ego in balance. Especially if we can laugh at ourselves. That keeps the ego in check.
So, as Frank Sinatra sang so well, but paraphrased to fit my needs, I’ll do it my way. As always, I am available for speaking to your group or just you. Send me an email and we can connect. I have dozens of resources that don’t cost you anything… just send an email asking for them and I’ll send you a list of my favorites. If you happen upon my website or any other online mediums, I’d love to hear your thoughts, especially if you laughed and felt better just for having visited. Those emails make my spirit soar… and probably my ego, too.